06

The Rural Right

The Rural Right are older voters, a third of whom are retired. They live primarily in rural areas across England, particularly in the North East, South East, and Yorkshire and the Humber. Over a third of them are retired and they are economically secure, likely to own their own home outright. Our smallest segment, they represent 10.6 percent of the electorate in England & Wales.

Overview

Who they are

What they think

The Rural Right are firmly conservative on social issues and to the economic right. On social issues, they believe that efforts to promote equality have gone too far. On economics, they oppose redistribution of wealth and believe that working people already receive a fair share. They want the government to reduce funding for public services and they think the UK should privatise as many industries as possible.

Who are they?

The Rural Right are concentrated in rural areas across England, particularly in the North East, South East, and Yorkshire and the Humber. Our smallest segment, they make up about 11% of the electorate. Whilst not a dominant segment in any area of the UK, they are most represented in Staffordshire, South Northamptonshire and Penrith and the Border.  

Where are they?

The Rural Right are older voters, a third of whom are retired. They are economically secure, and likely to own their own home outright.

What do they think?

The Rural Right are firmly conservative on social issues and to the economic right. On social issues, they believe that efforts to promote equality have gone too far. On economics, they oppose redistribution of wealth and are the least likely of any segment to believe that we should increase taxes and government spending.

What do they care about?

The Rural Right are the only segment that does not consider inflation their top priority. Instead, they are most concerned about the state of the economy more broadly. Notably, they are more than twice as likely as most to care about immigration and asylum (54%), and fewer than one in twenty consider climate change a top issue (4%).

How would they vote?

The Rural Right have historically proved the Conservatives' most loyal supporters. Of all our segments, they had the highest Brexit vote (85%) and the highest Conservative 2019 vote (85%). Since then, however, support for the Conservatives has collapsed dramatically. Now just 40% support the Conservatives, almost entirely due to a dramatic surge in support for the Tory’s challengers on the right: Reform UK